Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson

Genevieve and Stephanie become friends online through their mutual love for a television show. It's a fast friendship, accelerated by a fan convention trip where they meet in real life and find they really do enjoy one another's company.

They're both young women (18 and 22) with complicated lives - Gena's about to begin college (if she finishes her exams and papers), has absent and disconnected parents, and has a history of mental instability; Finn is looking for her first "real" job, has just moved in with her boyfriend, and is contemplating future options (marriage? kids?).

The book is formatted as blog posts and comment chains, direct messaging, text messages, emails, notes, diary entries, and more.

While there's a lot of back-and-forth chats that are quick to read, I can't say it's easy: the part that you instinctually want to ignore (the header, subject line, date and time) holds information that helps you work through the conversation. I found myself doing a lot of backtracking and rereading those headers - for example, some emails are drafts that were never sent.

I almost gave up on this book about 15 pages in, but decided to give it another go. I'm glad I did, too, because I really enjoyed it once I got to know the characters better. And it wasn't nearly as formulaic as I'd feared a modern-novel-in-messaging might be - the storyline went in a couple directions I hadn't anticipated. Hooray!

I Don't Have a Happy Place: Cheerful Stories of Despondency and Gloom by Kim Korson

Kim Korson's not really depressed - she's just got a pessimistic (she'd say realistic) kind of look at the events of the world around her. In this memoir, we get a glimpse at her life as a mother and wife, but also as a daughter growing up and dating before she met Buzz.

It's funny, in a dark way. Everybody knows someone like Kim - the one with a perpetual slightly-cloudly look at life, rather than a full-out rain cloud over their head. (Some of us may even BE that person.)

And you'll enjoy her humorous anecdotes and stories as they're presented here. But it's not a gut-busting funny book, and Kim doesn't really find resolution or a message to bring the experience to a close. I felt ready-to-be-done but missed feeling a sense of completion at the book's end.

Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Ben Greenman

As a founding member of The Roots and a talented record producer, Questlove (or ?uestlove) has made his name in the hip-hop industry. But many don't realize he's actually a music fan first with a base of amazing depth and breadth, a true walking encyclopedia of music and musicians.

I'm not a hip-hop fan, but I am a music geek and I've read a lot of cool things about Questlove and his music geekdom. I read a positive review and thought I'd give this book a try. And I'm glad I did.

Ahmir's life is interesting, as are the stories of creation and evolution of The Roots. But what's more interesting are his opinions on music, his memories on sounds that stopped him in his tracks, and the fanboy moments that left him speechless. His loving Prince even though his parents disapproved; his loving the Beach Boys even though he's a big black hip hop guy.

I really enjoyed the book, and he made me go back to listen again to some great music in order to hear it Questlove's way. Music geeks unite!

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Is love enough, or does it take more to make a marriage work?

When a chance at her dream job interferes with Christmas, sitcom-writer Georgie's husband and kids go on to Omaha without her. That leaves her free to work - or does it mean that Neal just left her? Everybody's got their own theory.

Which all leaves Georgie a bit out-of-sorts. Neal's not answering his phone, her battery's gone kaput, and her Mom wants her to come over for a sympathy dinner. Georgie finally reaches Neal's mother's house in Omaha from her old bedroom at her mom's house, but something seems ... off.

This adult novel by YA wundkind Rowell is a fluffy bit of fiction with the kind of real-world, flawed and relatable characters she does so well. Georgie's certainly not perfect - but do you have to be perfect to deserve love?

Rainbow Rowell's books make me want to curl up in a quilted cloud and get lost, uninterrupted until I've turned the final page. 2013 was certainly the year her star exploded, but I think so far we've only seen the tip of her talent's enormous iceburg.

The Muppets: Character Encyclopedia by Craig Shemin

I'm a big Muppets geek from way back, so you know this one had to go home with me. This character compendium covers the complete Muppets chronology, from pre-TV's The Muppet Show through the in-theatres-now Muppets Most Wanted film.

It's fun, and you'll learn things about lots of the marginal characters. But the brief bio format left me wanting on the major players, and I wish there was more behind-the-scenes info on the character's development.

In summary, I'm glad I checked it out from the library rather than buy it, but I'm also glad I read it.

Raw: A Love Story by Mark Haskell Smith

Sepp's a reality TV hunk on a book tour for the book he didn't write. Harriet's a noted literary blogger determined to prove that this kind of "book" is bringing about the decline of publishing and society as a whole.

And while you might think that's a recipe for either 1) a boring discourse or 2) a porn movie, it's actually better and less predictable than either of those options.

It takes quite a talent to skewer both the pomposity of literary criticism and the inanity of reality television, but Smith manages to successfully (and entertainingly) complete both tasks - it just seems like a funny, contemporary caper!

VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave by Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn with Gavin Edwards

This book is a fun little moonwalk down memory lane for any child of the '80s; the five original VJ's may have been making it up as they went along, but we were certainly along for the joyride, too. I was the perfect age for MTV's early years, and I know these authors as well as any of my real-life preteen friends.

The book's divided up into themed chapters, but each VJ gets their say in bits and bites (remember, they invented our short attention spans). Most of the stories are just a paragraph or two, but some tales take a little more time to tell. And tell tales they do: MTV Spring Break, house parties, and clubbing, along with celebrity crushes and strange behavior. "Diamond" David Lee Roth gets his own chapter because there are so, so many stories.

It's kind of fun to get this behind-the-scenes look at MTV back when it actually was all about the music. I thought it was funny that they setup their own note-libraries about the videos, since they weren't really watching them (how does that one end? what happens in it? silly or serious?).

It's a little choppy in places, what with 4 author voices plus excerpts from the late J.J. Jackson. But that quality also makes this book excellent for pick-it-up-and-put-it-down reading (again, short attention span!).

Glamour, Interrupted by Steven Cojocaru

Cojo became famous for his red carpet fashion reports, his giant grin, and his sparkling, friendly reporting style that makes you feel like a gossip insider. Yet when he became sick with an inherited disease and required a kidney transplant, he hid his illness from everyone - even his family - for as long as possible because he was afraid he'd be shunned by Hollywood's "beautiful people." 

Cojo's medical saga was harrowing - the first transplanted kidney didn't last - but he brings his characteristic wit to the retelling; the result is a pretty light, rather funny look at illness and recovery. 

I picked up the book because I'm interested in transplant stories - I have several friends currently facing similar situations. This book is a quick read and, while entertaining, it's also accurate in describing the good, bad and ugly of a patient's experience.